


November 6th

by StackerPentecost



Series: November Writing Prompts [6]
Category: Marvel, The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Long-Distance Relationship, Pen Pals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-06
Packaged: 2019-08-19 17:17:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16538861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StackerPentecost/pseuds/StackerPentecost
Summary: Frank and Karen meet thanks to a pen pal project at their high schools. Remaining close even after the assignment is over, they end up becoming exactly what they were both missing in each others' lives.This is for a November Prompt List.This prompt was: Airport.





	November 6th

Frank paced back and forth through the terminal, his worn boots taking the same path over and over again. He kept glancing up at the digital board that listed the incoming and outgoing flights and their times. Karen’s plane was set to land in approximately ten minutes. It might as well have been years with the way he felt. He’d already been here for a good three hours, taking his chance when he saw it to leave home. In his hoodie was stuffed his own ticket and boarding pass, meant for an outbound flight to Washington state. Karen had one of her own too, they were taking the same flight as soon as she got here. His mind spun as he went over the past few years.

They’d met by chance, when they’d been matched up for an email/pen pal program through their high schools. It matched students based on their interests and Frank had never expected anyone to be into classical literature like Karen was. They were only required to write three emails, but Frank and Karen had continued to talk even after the assignment was over. Frank was sort of old fashioned and didn’t have much use for social media, but Karen had convinced him to trade numbers so they could text.

They had more in common than they thought. Both had lost their mothers at a young age and had a father that was far from ideal. They both played sports as kids and liked to cook on occasion. They were both pretty independent out of necessity as well. They got along better than either of them could’ve expected. 

  
Soon texts and emails turned to phone calls and Karen even managed to get him to agree to Facetime. It was their escape, Frank from his father’s constant expectations of perfection in a boy who had a temper that burned just below the surface, and Karen from her father’s indifference and preference for her younger brother. They also bonded over the fact that they both longed to leave their families behind and be whoever they damn well pleased. 

It wasn’t hard to see why they ended up as more than just friends

Karen appealed to Frank much more than any of the girls he went to school with. She was fiery and intelligent, but also at times soft spoken and very kind. She made him feel like he was worth something, even when he didn’t meet his father’s standards. They never explicitly stated their feelings, but that didn’t matter, it was clear enough. More and more Frank began to dream about a life far away from Hell’s Kitchen, with Karen by his side. 

They graduated high school within days of each other. By then, they’d already laid out a plan. 

Karen had been accepted to a great college out in Washington and had spent months setting up everything they would need. They both had been working hard to save money, Frank at a local bookstore and Karen at a bakery. It took time, but eventually they saved enough to purchase the plane tickets to leave, with Karen flying into New York from Vermont where they would then share a plane out to Washington. 

The day of, Frank made sure Karen got onto her flight without an issue before making a calculated escape from his home. He didn’t leave a note for his old man and it didn’t bother him in the least. He’d taken a cab to the airport and had been waiting for her to land ever since.

Finally, her flight was announced as having landed over the loudspeaker. Frank swallowed hard, his heart in his throat. He quickly sat down, needing to take a moment to breathe properly and get his shit together before he saw her.

He saw her before she saw him. She came out into the terminal in the midst of sea of other passengers, but she stood out to him, her blonde hair like a beckon welcoming him home. He stood up, shouldering his bag before picking up the flowers he’d brought. That’s just how Frank was, he was old fashioned to the core and when you met a beautiful woman, especially one you happened to have feelings for, you brought her something nice, like flowers.

When she spotted him, she faltered, like she didn’t really believe he was there. He could see the line of her mouth tremble faintly as she quickly recovered and came toward him. By the time she reached him, he could see tears in her eyes. When he held out the flowers, white roses, they spilled over. When he opened his arms to her, she latched onto him and buried her face in his chest. 

  
She was even more perfect in person. All soft skin and pink cheeks and everything he’d never imagined would want anything to do with him. She smelled sweet, like watermelon and vanilla. He wrapped his free arm around her, resting his chin on the top of her head. She kept apologizing for getting tears on his hoodie and he refused to accept it when in his mind she’d done nothing wrong. 

“It’s good to see you.” Frank murmured softly. 

She pulled back enough to be able to look up at him. “I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life to be here with you.”

His lips found her forehead. “I feel the same way.” 

“You and me, right?” She sniffled softly, leaning into him again.

Frank nodded, stroking a hand down her back. “You and me, sweetheart.”


End file.
